1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to networking. In particular, the present invention relates to an end-to-end network control system for improving Quality of Service (QoS), enhancing network and data security, availability, and reliability, monetizing network traffic, and reducing networking costs.
2. Description of Related Art
Data networks are generally said to be connection-oriented or connectionless. Connection-oriented networks require an establishment of a data transmission session between two nodes before transmission can begin. Once communications are completed, the session is ended or torn down. Circuit-switched networks are connection-oriented because they require a dedicated channel for the duration of the session. The most ubiquitous circuit-switched network is the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN).
A connectionless network is a communications architecture that does not require the establishment of a session between two nodes before transmission can begin. The transmission of packets within Internet Protocol (IP) networks, for example, is connectionless. In general, IP networks include a collection of IP router peers, each of which is part of an Autonomous System (AS), where each router has a limited view of the network in real-time, restricted to the next “hop,” or connection, to an adjacent router. For example, in this environment, identical packets transmitted across the Internet may take completely different routes between the same source and destination. If a packet does not reach its destination, it is simply resent or discarded.
This characteristic inhibits carriers from guaranteeing Quality of Service (QoS) when transporting voice or other streaming or real-time data services over connectionless networks, such as IP networks in general and the Internet in particular. Because this “flaw” in connectionless networks is inherent, streaming or real-time data traffic has historically been provided by connection-oriented communications architectures, like circuit-switched telecommunications networks. Connectionless networking works well for non-real-time transmissions, such as requests for Web-pages, email, or the like, but does not work well for real-time or streaming transmissions such as voice or video-conferencing. In summary, the performance of connectionless networks is inherently unpredictable.
Connectionless networks also have other drawbacks. For example, IP routers typically make sub-optimal routing decisions based on single parameters, such as availability, without taking into account appropriate combinations of other factors such as transport cost, network congestion, latency, required security, or other parameters. Managing data packets in this manner is inefficient and needlessly expensive, as management and control functions are replicated at each router, and carriers must over-provision their networks (a waste of resources) in order to even approach on-time delivery required by streaming traffic.
In addition, connectionless data networks typically utilize in-band signaling and control, i.e., a single logical plane both to transport data packets and to control communications among the various elements in the network, such as routers or switches. As such, control information is as accessible by users as the transmitted data, so both are vulnerable to a variety of attacks.
Still further, current IP transport technologies offered to network carriers, including Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS), generally do not generate transaction records, making usage-based or premium service billing all but impossible. The industry's answer has been subscription-based billing or flat pricing, an inefficient and unprofitable economic model for streaming or real-time data traffic that has led to cost cutting with an inevitable and consequential erosion in service levels.
In response to the above concerns, the Communications industry has invested billions of dollars in an attempt to provide predictable network performance. Attempted solutions include MPLS, Route Optimization, and Deep-packet Discovery. None of these technologies, however, have succeeded in addressing the above mentioned concerns. Each of these “solutions” has one or more of the following inherent architectural flaws: a connectionless network cannot guarantee predictable performance or accurately track usage details; in-band control limits security by exposing commands to users; stateless network control cannot provide timely network response to changing conditions; and distributed, autonomous control logic cannot extend network control from end-to-end or coordinate usage for optimal efficiency.
Accordingly, a method and system for providing predictable and reliable network performance in an IP network, while addressing the above mentioned drawbacks and concerns, would be highly desirable.